Forward Township: Council meetings to resume online

By CHRISTINE HAINES

chaines@yourmvi.com

After holding only one meeting since the start of the pandemic last March, Forward Township supervisors will begin to have meetings via Zoom.

In the latest township newsletter, supervisor Dave Magiske said the regular  meetings are still scheduled for the second Monday of each month, though none has been held or scheduled this month. Magiske said the meetings will most likely be held through Zoom and may take place at different times of the day. 

Full details about upcoming meetings will be sent to residents receiving the newsletter, Magiske said.

Township solicitor Matt Racunas said that while the meetings may be virtual, state law still requires basic elements to assure they are open to the public.

“They will be advertised and there will be a link to the meeting. They still require public notice,” Racunas said.

Meetings will also have a public comment period, though Racunas said he isn’t certain how Forward Township will organize it. Racunas said if it is done like other municipalities in the region, members of the public participating in the Zoom session would be invited to unmute themselves to share their input.

Racunas said nothing significant has been missed by the lack of public meetings over the past nine months or so, other than the meeting held in late December to adopt a budget.

“There’s really nothing going on other than the regular payment of the bills,” he said.

To read the rest of the story, please see a copy of Wednesday’s Mon Valley Independent, call 724-314-0035 to subscribe or subscribe to our online edition at http://monvalleyindependent.com.